Event Partners

Music 4.5 The Economics of Streaming

1:00pm: Registration

1:30pm: Welcome and introduction by 2Pears

1:35pm: Opening remarks by the chairDeborah Newman, MusicStrat

1:40pm: The YouTube paradox
How do the proposed changes to the DMCA safe harbor provision affect the record industry and music artists who are trying to leverage YouTube both as a marketing platform and revenue generator? The streaming digital platforms provide quite similar services to consumers but depending on their business models, they vary vastly in their revenue-generation, royalty payments, services to, and protection of copyright holders and artists.Richard Burgess, CEO, A2IM

1:50pm: The safe harbor issue
How will the proposed changes to the DMCA safe harbor provision impact ad-supported and subscription-based service providers, e.g. Spotify and YouTube? Will ‘take down’ also mean ‘stay down’? Right now, the onus is on the copyright holder to police for infringing content. But in order to get licenses, sites like YouTube have either licensed or created their own content identification systems. What are the issues with ‘take down’?Tiffany Almy, Counsel, Reed-Smith

2:00pm: Free market value for creators
Is a totally ‘free market’ to be desired for creators and music businesses? Will a ‘free market’ without statutory licenses lead to higher revenue? Or, do royalties for plays alone lead to more income for creators? How should the impact of the ad-market dynamics on per-stream rates be off-set? Barry Massarsky, Economist and Strategist for Music Industry Revenue

2.10pm: Towards a new music renaissance?
Music is everywhere. Music drives commerce and culture. It is an essential element of any major technology firm’s consumer platform, and more than any other creative industry, the music business is leading the digital revolution, adopting and embracing new business models to serve today’s fans. But critical reforms are needed to deliver a music ecosystem that works for both fans and creators. Steven Marks, Chief Digital Business and General Counsel, RIAA

2:20pm: Connecting music with the money
What are the implications of the different policies for artists, record labels, publishers, collective rights management organisations, and digital service providers?
Are the royalty rates too low due to the DCMA’s notice-and-takedown process and the ease of users uploading/re-uploading content? How much is actually offset by Content ID?
How is the music rights landscape changing with the new consumption patterns and platforms, and the development of new monitoring tools?David Levin, Vice President Digital Licensing, BMI

2.30pm: Panel Discussion – Changing the rules for revenue-generation
On-demand audio streaming’s share in the U.S. has now surpassed total digital sales for the first time with a 76% increase in 2016, representing 38% of total audio consumption. In his recent report on “Streaming Music Pricing,” MiDIA’s Mark Mulligan says that various pricing models and the pressure for innovation in pricing strategy are creating pressure on the $9.99 price point.
The free, ad-supported and the paid-for-subscription business models currently represent two different (not differing?) marketplaces – how can both be useful and profitable for service owners and rights holders?
What changes are necessary for fair competition and revenues returned to artists and rightsholders?Moderator: Deborah Newman, Consultant, MusicStrat Panellists:Tiffany Almy, Counsel, Reed-Smith Richard Burgess, CEO, A2IM David Levin, Vice President Digital Licensing, BMI Steven Marks, Chief Digital Business and General Counsel, RIAA Barry Massarsky, Economist and Strategist for Music Industry Revenue

3:10pm: Coffee break

3:30pm: Demand elasticity or a ‘value gap’?
On a per-hour-of-music-consumed basis an ad-supported service generally pays less than a subscription service. But that fact does not necessarily prove a "value gap." It may simply reflect that different people have different elasticities of demand for music and that different services operate to satisfy those different demand elasticities. The goal of the industry should be to maximize revenue across all listening. Christopher Harrison, VP Music Business Affairs, Sirius XM Radio

3:40pm: Growing the pie
Facebook is developing its focus on video delivery - does Facebook’s current lack of licensing impact artists and the music business? What opportunities does the new Facebook strategy offer the music business? What content strategies, innovations and partnerships will help grow the revenue pie for music artists and the industry? Anna Siegel, Business Development, FUGA and Helena Kosinski, Vice President - Client Services, Nielsen Music

3:50pm Collaborating across the pond
SESAC and Rumblefish/HFA just launched a new linking technology tool, while SESAC has teamed up with Suisa to license and administer rights for multi-territory use of music on digital services. How is the differing US and European licensing infrastructure collaborating and adapting? John Raso, SVP of Client Services for HFA and Rumblefish

4.00pm Making free work
Adapting to new consumer habits and taking into account the impact of ad-market dynamics on per-stream rates for artists, record labels, publishers, and collective rights management organizations requires a re-think of the traditional advertising model.
Advertising is changing across the music services. How can revenues continue to be increased the music services, which in turn benefits all of the rights holders? How can the ‘free, ad-funded model’ be made to work better and more fairly for artists? Pete Jimison, CEO/Jenifer Vandagriff, Director of UX & Design, F Sharp

4:10 The Subscriber Share Model
Streaming royalties from subscription services like Spotify, AppleMusic, and others are distributed using the "Big Pool" (pro-rata) distribution method. There are questions as to whether this method of royalty distribution is fair or even in the best interests of the music industry (artists, labels, and services). A new approach is the "Subscriber share" model. Subscriber share distributes royalties based on the plays of each individual subscriber instead of pro-rata across all subscribers. Can the subscriber share approach to royalty distribution increase royalties for artists with fan bases as music streaming services start to scale?Dick Huey, Founder & CEO, Toolshed

4:20pm: Panel discussion - The Value Gap(s)
Value gaps result from consumption and user numbers not being commensurate with revenue generation. As new technologies, marketing strategies and consumption patterns develop, with ‘free consumption’ increasingly entrenched in consumers minds, how can the ad-supported model be made to work better and more fairly for artists? Is there a ‘value gap’ or just a different ‘elasticity of demand’? How is legislation keeping up?Moderator: Bill Rosenblatt, Founder, GiantSteps Media Technology StrategiesPanellists:Christopher Harrison, VP Music Business Affairs, Sirius XM RadioDick Huey, Founder & CEO, ToolshedPete Jimison, CEO, F Sharp Anna Siegel, Business Development, FUGAJohn Raso, SVP of Client Services for HFA and Rumblefish